A Different Mask
by Reivuu
Summary: Pregame, slight AU. If the man who would be Raven never had the chance to don his empty masks, who would replace him? (A retelling of Raven's backstory novels/manga, Empty Mask, with a different main character. Potential spoilers abound. Play the game first. Maybe read the side material.)
1. War Was Beginning

A thousand knights had left Zaphias, headed to Mt. Temza. Among them were fifty members of the Canary Brigade. But now, after the monsters had attacked so viciously, so purposefully, led by that **thing** floating above them, all but two had fallen. The last remaining knights were Lieutenant Damuron Atomais and his captain, Canary.

That **thing**—Damuron didn't know what it was, but it was too powerful and too intelligent to be called a mere monster—was still following them, as they fled through the desert on the last remaining mount. If they could just get to the ocean, to the boats, they could escape... They could bring Hermes' research notes back to Zaphias, as well as the mementos of the knights... They were almost there, they just had to reach the–

_No._ After crossing the last of the dunes, the beach was in sight, but there was no solace to be found there. The boats were destroyed; the crews vanished, presumably dead. Damuron didn't know when he'd started crying.

The **thing** dove after them, misshapen fangs bared. Damuron grabbed Canary and pulled her off the mount, hearing its dying screams just moments later. The two pulled themselves to their feet, facing the beast head-on.

"It can't expect us to lie down peacefully, now can it?" Sure, they were almost certainly about to die, but at the same time, they had little left to lose. The only thing left to do was last as long as they could...

"Thank you, Damuron." Somehow, Canary managed a genuine smile. The sight of her gave him strength he didn't know he had left. "The man who stands beside me in my final hour... the man you are now... I love you."

Knowing her mysterious boyfriend had to be among the recent casualties, he couldn't tell if she was genuinely confessing to him, or just trying to boost his morale. He couldn't bring himself to care. His reply, at least, was genuine, and both of them knew it.

"I love you too, Canary." _And I'm sorry, Canary's boyfriend, luckiest of men. Guess I'll get to meet you in the afterlife..._

The **thing** lunged forward with a flurry of attacks, and they struggled to get out of the way, finding it hard to manoeuvre with the sand sliding beneath their feet. When it launched a barrage of fireballs at Damuron, he was almost unable to dodge. The assault blew him backwards. His eyes focused on Canary as he slowly, painstakingly pulled himself to his feet... She'd jumped in front of him, guarding him as he recovered. She deflected the dark lances the **thing** launched at him, not even reacting when one sliced her arm. He could only stare at the bloody gash it had left, registering that her blood had splashed onto his face. He tried to say something, but he couldn't find the words.

_I should be the one protecting her..._ With a flick of her wrist, Canary transformed her weapon from a sword to a bow. She and the **thing** both readied their next attacks; Canary glowed green as she charged her Vajra arte, while it spat embers, readying a large burst of flame. _No... That arte drains her energy! Is she trying to sacrifice herself? Canary... Don't do this!_

It felt like his body was moving on its own. Just before either party could fire, Damuron ran at Canary and pushed her to the side. The glow around her vanished as she lost her concentration. She looked back at him and opened her mouth to say something—scold him, maybe?—but before she could speak, the **thing** fired its blast, still aimed at the spot where Canary was standing just moments ago... A spot not too far from where Damuron now stood...

The force of the blast knocked him away, back among the remains of the earlier projectiles. He fell hard, whacking his head against something...

And Damuron was never heard from again.

* * *

Canary barely kept herself from falling over when Damuron pushed her, and from falling to her knees when she saw what had happened. She'd already had to leave everyone else in her brigade to their deaths, and now even Damuron, her right-hand man, had given his life for her in vain...

She couldn't keep running.

In a last, desperate, thoughtless attempt, she snapped her bow back into sword form and charged forward, not even bothering to defend herself. In seconds, one of the beast's dark lances pierced right through her chest. She stopped and stared down at the wound, already lightheaded from the earlier blood loss. The enemy quickly lost interest in her, focusing its attention on the sky.

_The sky...?_ She looked up as she fell backwards onto the sand. There was something flying up there, with white and golden wings. Her vision was fading, but she thought she could make out a person on its back. _Duke? You... tried to warn us..._

That was the last thing Canary saw before her death.


	2. Not Quite Dead Yet

Canary woke slowly, her eyes gradually adjusting to the light. Her mind was foggy; her limbs felt like lead bricks. There was a dull ache in her chest–

_My__ chest?!_ She jolted upright, immediately regretting the movement as her muscles screamed in pain. _That's right, I…_ _I died…_ She held her hands in front of her face and moved her fingers experimentally, wincing at the odd stiffness in her joints. Her body, she realized, was covered in bandages. Glancing around her location, she could tell she was in a simple bed in a small room with spartan decor. The light was coming from a small window, though her current angle didn't allow her to see outside. She could only assume she'd been taken somewhere safe and treated…

_But how does one treat death?!_ Turning her attention back to the pain in her chest, she carefully pried off the gauze…

She saw a glint of metal lodged between her breasts. _A blastia?_ A blastia that was currently embedded in her flesh. The blood red glow of its core grew brighter as she began to panic. She tore off more of the bandages, needing to see the extent of the 'damage'. The golden blastia body branched out above her breasts, with the faceted core sitting just above her solar plexus.

Before she had a chance to do anything else, Alexei entered the room. Canary reflexively covered her breasts with her arms, though if Alexei has seen anything he shouldn't have, he didn't seem to care.

"So you're awake…" He sighed. To Canary, he looked as dead as she felt; she wished she didn't understand the level of despair visible on his face.

"Y-Yes…" Speaking took more effort than she'd been expecting. She hadn't realized how dry her throat was. "But how?"

"You've already discovered the blastia, I see," Alexei said, gesturing to her chest. "It's an experimental life support blastia. Hermes, from Temza, designed it with my assistance. Though it was only supposed to be a prototype, it seems to be working fine…"

"So then… you used this blastia… to bring me back to life?"

Alexei nodded. "You were the only one I could save. By the time reinforcements arrived at Mt. Temza, there was no one left alive, and barely any bodies that… hadn't been mutilated beyond repair…"

"What about Damuron? He… He would have been in better condition than me!"

"…" She could tell by the strained look on his face that Alexei was hiding something. She was about to press him for information when he spoke up again. "Damuron… The local monsters got to his body not long before we did. He… was unsalvageable."

She shuddered, not wanting to think about what Alexei's statement entailed. Damuron had only been only metres away from her… Another question burned at the back of her mind. _What about the monster that killed us? What happened to it?_ She decided to save that question for later, instead focusing on something else that was bothering her.

"So… How long has it been? It feels like I haven't moved in a while…"

"Just over two weeks. But I'm afraid you may be stuck in bed a little while longer. I don't want you straining your heart until I'm sure it's working properly."

She sighed and lay back down on the bed, pulling the sheet over her chest. "It's been aching since I woke up… It's not unbearable, but if the discomfort means something's wrong, I should probably take it easy."

Alexei moved next to the bed, pulled down the sheet, and opened up the blastia console before Canary could protest. "Nothing I haven't already seen," he muttered in response to her blushing as he scrolled through the code. She was too distracted by the holographic display of the code keeping her alive to be mortified by the idea that yes, he would have seen her naked body while he was installing the blastia. She'd seen mages work with blastia before, but she had no idea how the formulas worked. Even if she did, she had a hard time reading them; the display was between her and Alexei and facing the latter, so it appeared mirrored from her angle.

After a few minutes of Alexei silently analyzing the code, he closed the display. "Everything seems to be working. Your discomfort is probably a side-effect of the power source, coupled with your body adapting to the blastia. It should fade within a few days; if it gets worse, see me immediately."

"Understood." She'd known Alexei was interested in blastia, but he knew more about medicine than she'd realized. "Wait… what power source? Does it not use aer?"

"No. If it were, it would be far too sensitive to the levels of aer surrounding it. Instead, it uses your own life force for power." Her own life force? She hadn't thought much of her lack of energy upon waking, considering the circumstances, but now… "Don't panic, it doesn't take much just to keep it running. Your body should be able to replace what the blastia takes easily, with enough food and rest. Speaking of which, I can have someone bring you food if you wish."

Her stomach growled. Right, she hadn't had anything to eat in weeks… "Food would be nice."

Alexei nodded and left, pausing by the door. "I'd had Hermes researching new blastia, particularly barriers, so that someday humanity could settle where they pleased, instead of relying on ancient technology. I can't ask you to forgive me for sending you all to Mt. Temza, so I won't. But had I known what fate awaited you there…" He trailed off, leaving Canary to fill in the gap. _He never would have sent us… He feels responsible for what happened._ He had one foot out the door before Canary stopped him with one last question.

"Wait… That monster, the one leading the others, what happened to it? How could you recover my body with it there?"

"It was dead when we arrived," he stated before leaving. To Canary, it sounded like he meant 'They have been avenged.'

* * *

Left alone with her thoughts, she barely noticed the door open. She'd been repeating the names of her subordinates to herself, every last member of her brigade, vowing she'd never forget their sacrifices. Though she never could have predicted her revival, and at the time of her death hadn't particularly desired it, she knew her brigade would want her to carry on. When she did register that she was no longer alone, she merely pulled the sheet up over her head.

"Leave the food here, I'll get to it soon," she mumbled.

"I thought you were hungrier than that." Recognizing the voice as Alexei's, she pulled the sheet down and sat up (slowly this time).

"I hadn't expected you to deign to bring me food yourself…" Even seeing that it was just porridge, she reached for it eagerly. The smell reminded her how hungry she really was.

"I wanted to talk to you." He handed her the porridge. "We both put so much effort into changing the Knights, into shaping your brigade. The first brigade not to discriminate between nobles and commoners. Even after this loss, I can't let that idea disappear. I need you… I need you to help me remake the Canary Brigade."

Canary ate her porridge quietly as she considered the proposal. Of course, she should have expected that she'd still be a captain once she recovered. But while thinking of her brigade—her _late_ brigade, she amended—she couldn't even imagine replacing them. Having scarfed half the bowl already, she looked up at Alexei.

"I'll remain a knight at your side, certainly. But a new Canary Brigade… that's impossible." She could never replace her brigade, and she didn't intend to try.

"Canary…" Alexei was evidently less than pleased with her response. "You'll have time to reconsider while you're recovering. Please, don't let everything we've worked for go to waste."

"If I wanted to waste our efforts," she muttered into her meal, "I'd shut this thing off and be done with it. But I haven't. Because I know if I just lie down and die, they'll never forgive me. But there's no replacing my subordinates, the ones who worked with me to make my brigade as great as it is… or was."

"…Very well." Alexei sighed and stepped back, but Canary had a feeling he wouldn't leave it at that. Still, she turned her attention back to her porridge. There wasn't much she could do but move on, if only for the sake of those that couldn't. That didn't mean she had to like it.


End file.
